Texas can help typhoon victims

Express-News Editorial Board

Updated 4:44 pm, Tuesday, November 12, 2013

SAN ANTONIO — Texas is no stranger to the ravages of hurricanes. The one that slammed Galveston in 1900 killed about 8,000, 20 percent of that city's population. It was a Category 4, registering winds of up to 135 mph.

The typhoon that devastated the city of Tacloban last weekend — population 220,000 — and cut a swath of destruction elsewhere in the Philippine Islands was a Category 5, the most powerful storm, with winds of up to 190 mph.

Survivors reported 13-feet seawalls, with water coming waist deep on second-floor buildings. The death toll is conservatively estimated at 10,000. No one will be surprised if it goes higher.

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Typhoon, cyclone, hurricane. They come with different names depending on where they strike. But they are the same storm — at their most furious, prolonged concentrations of wind and water with the power to flatten cities and take lives when they make landfall.

The images out of the Philippines attest to this power. They also tell of the need for immediate food, water and medical aid. Help will be needed to rebuild as well.

The U.S. government has mobilized, sending troops and money almost immediately. You, too, can help. Several organizations have already launched relief efforts. Help them and you help these victims.

Their websites are easy to find on the search engine of your choice, but we offer links to them in our online version of this editorial. The Red Cross has an email address to help people contact victims in the Philippines. It is sos@redcross.org.ph.